


Of Hurt and Comfort

by silentlsworld



Category: Bones (TV)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Friendship/Love, I Love You, Intimate moments, Life Partners, One Shot, One True Pairing, Partners to Lovers, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Singing, Their Love Is So, True Love, season 7
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 10:48:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29758506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silentlsworld/pseuds/silentlsworld
Summary: Booth has just found out his father is dead. Feigning his acceptance of it, Brennan knows he's not taking it as well as he's letting on. Desperate to help him feel better, she mules over it until she finds the way only she can help. Set in season 7, this fic kicks off right after the scene ends of Booth crying as he was looking at the Vet chairs. Just a little moment I keep going back to and wanted to explore. How would Brennan comfort him? What could have happened as they got ready for bed that night?
Relationships: Seeley Booth/Temperance Brennan
Kudos: 8





	Of Hurt and Comfort

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own the Bones characters, I'm only borrowing them for this little idea I had. 
> 
> A/N: I've had this idea running in my head for the past three months and I finally finished it! It is also inspired by a duet Emily Deschanel sang with Eric Millegan, "A Penny For Your Thoughts." I highly recommend listening to it as I will be referencing it at some point. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this little one-shot! Lemme know what you think!

Temperance Brennan sat there holding her boyfriend as he shifted through the contents of the metal box in front of him. She wasn’t sure how long they sat there, Booth’s shoulders shaking as he cried silently with her holding him but she didn’t care. Earlier in the week, she had been worried that she wouldn’t be able to comfort him and be there for him. She had always been socially awkward and emotionally distant at points. 

Booth had spent a lot of time throughout the years reassuring her that it didn’t matter to him and even when they had finally gotten together, he reminded. He had even told her that that was something that made her unique. It made Temperance Brennan, her and he was wholly completely in love with her because of that. He never wanted her to change or feel pressured to change. 

_“Bones, I love you for you, okay. I don’t want you to change, I never did and I never will.”_

But when she saw how broken he had been in the past couple of days over the news of his father, her own heart broke and she found herself many times wishing she were ‘normal’ and knew those social cues to indicate how she should help him. Why was it so hard to figure out? She had even reached out to Angela to ask her advice on what to do. Angela had told her to do something only she could do and right now, Brennan’s mind was a whirlwind of thoughts trying to figure it out. 

They stayed there for a couple more minutes until Brennan decided it was time for them to both get some rest. The little peanut inside also helped in arriving at that decision. She stood up, squeezing Booth’s shoulders. 

“You okay Bones?” 

“Yes. The baby has just decided to keep her foot jammed in my spleen which presumably means it’s time to find a better sitting position.” 

“I’m sorry.” 

“For what Booth? You have nothing to be sorry for. Okay? I’ll go put the dishes away and we can go to bed. If you’re ready that is.” 

“Yeah. Yeah bed. That sounds great right now. I’ll just put these up.” 

“Okay. I’ll meet you in the bedroom.” 

Brennan picked up the plates and walked into the kitchen. Booth sat and ran his hands over his face. He never thought that all these years later he would be here. Going through the last little artifacts from his late father with his pregnant partner right beside him the whole time. He was loath to open the box in the first place but he had to admit that when Pops left it with him at his office earlier that day, his curiosity peaked. Then when Brennan had handed it to him he wanted to scream but then she said something that shifted his entire perspective. 

_“Those good memories with your dad are happening right now.”_ she had said. Booth had long since decided to not hold on to those memories. The bad memories took up too much space in his mind to acknowledge the truth about the good ones. But when Brennan told him that, he couldn’t help but think about it. 

And then of course when he picked up the tickets, the seat numbers matched. They freaking matched and he lost it at that realization. He had done an okay job of keeping the tears at bay but when he realized that his efforts to bring in the seats had not been wasted. That day he spent trapped in the elevator with Brennan worth every second, down to the fact that he almost threw out his back, he lost all sense of composure and began sobbing. 

He could still hear the announcer shouting in the mic as the game came to a close. He closed his eyes and could see his dad picking him up laughing, fists pumping. His voice filling with pride going, “We did it! Seel! Yes! Mah boy! Seel! Did you see?” And Booth could hear his little giggles echoing, “Dad! Dad! Yes! We did it! We did it!” His finger lightly traced over the two figures. There had been a photographer capturing the candid moments from the crowd printing them immediately at the gate for patrons before they left. His dad had picked up a copy of it and had probably kept it with his stuff over the years. Booth hadn’t seen the picture in years, not since that day on the drive back home. 

Booth couldn’t help but wonder at that moment if his dad had ever taken out the picture to look at again or if he had simply forgotten it was there until his final days. So many questions buzzed around his head like a swarm of angry bees. 

Pops was right, he did want closure but wasn’t sure how to get it now. There was always the option of going down to the VA himself to talk to the guys there about what his dad’s final days had been like. But even that seemed too much for him and he wasn’t sure he could stomach going there. Too many memories, a couple triggers. No. Booth closed his eyes and buried his face in his hands. 

\------------------

Brennan had stood at the door of the kitchen watching Booth in silence. She didn’t want to interrupt his thinking and wanted to give him the silence and privacy to think. Even though he had told her countless times this week that he was okay, she knew he wasn’t. But she feared that poking and pushing him would result in him getting angry. Unconsciously she had always done so from time to time and though she never meant to cause him discomfort by being forward about issues, it always ended rather awkwardly. 

Now pregnant and admittedly in love with him, she felt a little more secure in her approach but still feared rejection or making him feel worse. She let out a brief sigh and at that moment, Booth raised his head and his eyes met hers. Angela called it eye sex and in all honesty, the manner in which they silently communicated with each other by simply looking was erotic. It was intimate, special; to Brennan, every time she looked into his warm brown eyes she felt loved. Extremely loved, more so than she felt in the past couple of years.

Booth felt the same. There were so many moments he would look into her blue eyes that appear green some days and he felt at home. He was certain that her eyes changed colors to match her mood, a thought he knew Brennan would dismiss as impossible, but despite the colors, he loved her eyes and always got lost in them so utterly lost that he found himself along the way. It made no rational sense but Seeley Booth was not a rational man, he was, in this moment, a broken man in love with his partner, his best friend and she was here, pregnant with his child, their daughter. 

He wiped his eyes, placed the tickets back in the box and just as he was about to place the photograph back, Brennan spoke up. 

“Wait Booth. I umm. I went into the spare cabinet and umm found this frame. I understand if you don’t want to but umm. I guess I figured…” frustrated that she couldn’t find the words to express herself Brennan sighed. She knew that Booth’s relationship with his father had been rough. Had been tainted, scarred by so many moments of abuse and neglect she wasn’t even sure he would want to constantly look at a reminder of those days. But even so, she didn’t want him to feel as though he didn’t have any good memories. She didn’t want him to be like her, the good memories completely suppressed and blocked to the point of not being able to accurately remember them when her mind drifted to those mental places. Before she could try speaking again, Booth had already stood up and crossed over to where she was standing. 

Not sure what else to say, she stretched out her hand and presented him with the picture frame she had found. His hand wrapped around hers and he smiled. Brennan had an ongoing insecurity of not knowing if she was doing the right thing. Oh how wrong she was, he thought. She may be awkward in her delivery at points but her heart, God her heart was always in the right place. And though nervousness was etched on her features, she had done it right. 

“Thanks Bones. I umm I think it might be too hard right now to put on display but -” He croaked out, his throat a bit raspy from crying earlier. 

“I know Booth, I wasn’t suggesting it right away just… you might want to put in there to preserve the picture.” 

“Yeah , yeah of course. I was thinking about that. Wanna help?” 

Not trusting herself to refrain from crying too, she nodded and followed him back to the couch where they cleaned out the frame and placed the picture and tickets strategically inside so they could all be on display clearly through the glass. 

He packed it on top of everything else in the box and carefully stored it in one of the drawers of his writing desk. Turning around, he stretched his hand out. 

“C’mere Bones, let’s go to bed. I’m tired and I’m sure the little peanut is feeling restless too.” 

The two fell into their normal nighttime routine with a comfortable silence. Every so often his hands would brush against her or she’d reach around him to grab something. Years ago, the domesticity of it would have scared Brennan but she had long since lost the last bit of her imperviousness and if she were honest with herself, it all just felt right with Booth. Life with him at work, outside of work and every little thing in between just felt right. Thinking about all the men she had met, Booth had been the only one to stand by her side and even through all the pain and adversity they had been through in the past year, she never trusted anyone more. 

Shaking her head as she combed out her hair, she shooed the negative thoughts out of her head. Heartache and angst aside, they were here now and she would stand by his side. And he would stand by hers. She walked out of the bathroom to find Booth propping up the pillows for her to get comfortable. Entering her third trimester, comfortable sleep had become a nightly challenge. Booth had always been attentive to that from the first night he noticed her constant shifting. 

\------------------------------

_“Bones, baby are you okay?”_

_“I’m fine Booth. Go back to sleep.”_

_“Are you sure? Do you need me to get you anything? Is the baby okay?”_

_Sighing, she wiggled around again for the umpteenth time. “It’s just. I can’t seem to get comfortable. I’m entering my third trimester and the baby has grown much more and she’s now resting in the most inconvenient places. For me at least….”_

_Booth got up and turned the bedside lamp on. Rubbing sleep out of his eyes, he got up and walked to the closet grabbing a bunch of pillows Brennan had no idea he had._

_“Booth?”_

_“Here, try to sit up for a bit and let me.”_

_Helping her sit up in a semi comfortable position, Booth fussed over the pillow arrangements every so often asking Brennan to lean back testing it out. Until she leaned back one last time and sighed in relief. Chuckling, Booth sat down on the edge of the bed beside her and placed his hand on her growing belly, gently rubbing._

_“Comfy?”_

_“God Booth this is great. Thank you.” She smiled up at him, the gratitude evident in her eyes and soft smile._

_“Of course Bones.” He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. Moving to her belly he gently lifted the sweatshirt she was wearing so he could run his hands over her bare belly. Leaning over, he kissed it and whispered._

_“Hey there little peanut. I know you’re probably sleeping right now but Daddy needs you to try and find a better spot to sleep in for your Momma okay? Try not to hurt her back too much, okay?”_

_“Booth you know she can’t understand you.”_

_“I know Bones. Doesn’t hurt… speaking of, how is your back? And be honest with me.”_

_She rested her hand over his that was still on her belly. “It’ll be fine Booth. The extra lumbar support the pillows are providing is amazing.”_

_“Okay, let me know if you need anything else okay?”_

_“Mmmmm-hmmm. Night Booth.” Finally in a spot conducive to sleep, Brennan closed her eyes and immediately drifted off. Ever since then, every night after he had finished his night routine, he would arrange the pillows for Brennan and helped her settle in to get comfortable before settling in himself._

_\----------------_

Brennan smiled and settled back on the pillows. Granted there were moments where Booth had gotten extremely overprotective which drove her mad but she was in fact grateful for his attentiveness. In general, he was always an attentive lover and partner and not just when they made love but even in the simple things of their days. 

“You good Bones?” 

“Yes Booth, thank you. Come join me.” she patted the space next to her. 

“I’ll be there right now, I just want to go double check the locks and windows okay?” 

“Okay.” 

Without fail since they started living together whether they spent the night at her apartment or his, Booth always walked around checking each lock and window to make sure everything was locked and safe. She figured it helped put his mind at ease knowing they were safe inside. Coming back, he crawled into bed next to her leaving the bedside lamp on for a bit. The emotional strain of the past week and today catching up to him and dropping his head on the pillow, he turned on his side to face Brennan. While he was walking around, Brennan had an idea come to her but she still wasn’t sure how well it’d work. It had been years since she had even considered it; the last time still fresh in her mind all these years later. She ran her fingers through his hair and listened to his breathing which soon turned into slight hiccups and his body trembled slightly. 

“It’s okay to cry Booth. Please don’t hold back. Let it out. I'm here.” 

“God Bones I’m so tired of feeling so emotional and raw. It’s not like we had a relationship anyways.” 

“He was your father Booth regardless. Isn’t that what you say about me and Max?” 

“It’s different, Bones. Your Dad lives by a certain code and whether or not we agree with him, it’s… my Dad was a drunk. An abusive drunk and I just… everyday I try to not be like him. To honor and respect you in every way I can, the same with Parker and now with our little peanut on the way. This whole thing just brought back a lot of doubts.” His hand came to rest on her belly. 

“Booth, I never met your father but from what Hank and you have told me. You are nothing like your father. Okay. I know that. Please don't doubt that for a second. I see it everyday in the way you fight for justice and the way you love Parker, me and our little peanut. You, Seeley Booth, are a good man.” Earlier she had contemplated telling him what Hank had told her all those years ago about the truth behind Booth’s father leaving him but she didn’t want to cause him anymore distress tonight. That would have to be a conversation for another day. She placed her hand on top of his and his head came to rest on her chest. Booth was still agitated, she could feel it and if he didn’t calm down, he’d have a restless night. Possibly nightmare riddled too. Sighing, Brennan decided to just go with it. She took a deep breath and picked up the hand that was resting on her belly and held it in hers. Soft and slow she started. 

_“A penny for your thoughts_

_A dime for your dreams_

_What a shiny new quarter_

_I had peeked at your schemes_

_And when you are away_

_So far from the sun_

_I will cherish my penny’s worth till at last I’m your bride”_

Booth was stunned. The last time he heard her sing was years ago at the Checker Box and that memory was unfortunately tainted with the tragic end to the night. Still, he had loved every second of hearing her sing that ill-fated night. 

There was something about her voice that just pulled him in and now with her holding his hand singing for him in what he figured was an attempt to calm him, he was speechless. Her voice had a deep husky timber to it and with every word sung to him in the hushed whispered tone, she sounded regal. It was a calmed control only Brennan could pull off. 

_“I know you’ll return dear_

_My heart tells me true_

_The light in my window burns only for you”_

_……_

_……_

_“I reckon we’re in love_

_And married we’ll be_

_And all for a penny_

_The penny that brought you to me”_

Brennan hummed the last few notes of the song, her fingers moving over Booth’s hands in tune with her voice. She felt him stiffen in shock when she started but as quickly as he did, he relaxed further into her. 

“Can you sing it again please?” came his whispered plea. 

Not missing a beat, she started again. A little louder than before, her confidence growing in the fact that he wanted to hear her. But it still held that soft deep timber. A secret reserved for his ears only. What’s ours is ours. As she neared the end, Booth propped himself up on his elbow, his face in line with hers. Her eyes pooled with tears, something she did only when she was unquestionably emotional. She turned her head to look at him, their eyes locking, a soft smile gracing her lips as she sang out 

“ _I reckon we’re in love_

_And married we’ll be_

_And all for a penny_

_The penny that brought you to me”_

Warmth spread through the both of them. A single tear ran down her cheek and Booth sat up using the hand he was propped up on to catch it. He refused to let go of her hand and instead squeezed it tighter. He rested his forehead on hers and in that moment, they didn’t need to say anything. What could they say that could sufficiently capture the gravity of what they shared? Nothing. He closed the distance and she came to meet him. 

Her lips were soft, silken almost against his. He could feel the soft tickle of her breath beneath his nose, her free hand coming to rest against the nape of his neck, fingers curling into his hair there. His resting tenderly against her cheek where he caught her tear. Their other hands still joined and rested on her belly. A connection none of them wanted to break, her small, soft hand fitting into his larger, rougher one. A contrasting feeling that kept them anchored in the sea of emotions they were riding. 

The intimacy of it all had Brennan’s chest feeling impossibly full, content and satisfied in a way she never thought she could be. His lips soft and intense on her had her clinging to him, opening her metaphoric soul to him. To both of them, it wasn’t a precursor to anything more, it was simply a connection, a moment to share with each the depth of their feelings, of their love. There were no words to describe it. Tugging at her bottom lip, he pulled away resting his forehead on hers again. 

“Bones… baby, you don’t give your heart nearly enough credit. Thank you.” he whispered. 

“I love you Booth.” 

“I love you too Bones. So damn much.” 

And Temperance Brennan found herself holding her partner again as she continued to lull them both to sleep with her singing but this time, he also held her. They had spent the better part of the past seven years chasing each other but now, they could finally relish in the sweet perfection of holding each other. An unspoken promise. They would always be there; what was theirs would always be theirs. Her heart. His soul. Her brain. His gut. So imperfectly perfect together. 

  
  



End file.
